The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was created in December 1992 to ensure follow-up of outcomes from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  At the 11th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), it was decided to review the implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and JPoI, in two year cycles with each cycle focusing on clusters of specific thematic and cross-cutting issues.

Each two year CSD cycle is separated into a review and policy year.  The review year  focuses on assessing the progress in implementing the JPoI, CSD-6/9, Agenda 21 and the Programme for Further Implementation of Agenda 21 with  respect to the thematic cluster for that cycle.   The policy year focuses on identifying options  and actions to address constraints and obstacles identified during the review year.

At the 11th session, regional commissions were also invited to take a lead role in organizing regional implementation meetings (RIM) to contribute to the work programme of the CSD. Subsequently, the first Regional Implementation Meeting on water, sanitation and human settlements, along with other preparatory work, was organized by UNESCAP in preparation for CSD-12/13. 

Asia-Pacific RIMs have been characterized by constructive multi-stakeholder discussion and resulted in substantive outcomes that have supported a strong representation of Asia-Pacific perspectives and sharing of lessons learned.

The UN General Assembly (UN Resolution 64/236) has decided that the work of the Commission would be postponed for one year in light of the preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20), and that the Regional Implementation Meetings scheduled  for 2011 would become the Regional Preparatory Meetings for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development.